Charles Cinema
185 Cambridge Street,
Boston,
MA
02114
185 Cambridge Street,
Boston,
MA
02114
11 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 93 comments
The argument of which has the biggest screens continues…
Here’s MY 2 cents (for what it’s worth):
CAL Berkeley
CORONET SF
NORTHPOINT SF
CENTURY OAKLAND
CENTURY PLEASANT HILL
CINEMA 150 SANTA CLARA
CENTURY TOWN & COUNTRY SAN JOSE
CREST SACRAMENTO
ESQUIRE SACRAMENTO
OAKS CUPERTINO
PRUNEYARD CAMPBELL
41ST AVENUE PLAYHOUSE CAPITOLA
FOX WATSONVILE
CINERAMA DOME HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES EGYTPTIAN HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES CHINESE HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES PARAMOUNT HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES CENTURY PLAZA LOS ANGELES FOX BRUIN WESTWOOD LOS ANGELES AVCO WESTWOOD LOS ANGELES FOX VILLAGE WESTWOOD LOS ANGELES ALEX GLENDALE ROXY GLENDALE CATHAY CIRCLE HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES CREST WESTWOOD LOS ANGELES NATIONAL WESTWOOD LOS ANGELES CENTURY HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES (THIS ONE BEING A GAY PORNO HOUSE!)
You talk about big! Most of these theaters in Califonia were affectionately called Caves! Raked not stadium seating. Curved not flat screens. Curtains. Ushers at all exits. Concessions, bx office and restrooms in their own islands.
Charles East and West opened on January 26th, 1973.
Walter Reade Charles East and West opening. Fri, Jan 26, 1973 – 21 · The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) · Newspapers.com
The Charles' 70mm engagements are noted in this new article on Boston’s large format and roadshow history.
Missed opening day but was there the second day for the original Star Wars run. They were still giving out “May The Force Be With You” buttons and had them there for the taking on a small table. I’ll always regret not taking a few, the one I did take was later lost.
The Charles was where all the (original trilogy) Star Wars films played. Seeing “Star Wars” on opening day, back in May 1977, on that gigantic screen, blew my 10 year old mind…
Shirley Marquez might have been thinking of the Pi Alley, a good single screen that opened in 1969 that was twinned down the middle less than a decade later, resulting in two long narrow auditoriums with postage stamp screens. Watching a film from the back rows of the twinned Pi Alley was an exercise in frustration. The 57 was better, but not by much. While the 57 auditoriums were fairly wide (I wouldn’t characterize either 57 auditorium as a bowling alley), they were also long, with screens that were surprisingly small, especially in the bigger of the two auditoriums. The large auditorium at the Charles was certainly superior to either the 57 or Pi Alley.
When the Charles opened by Reade. It had a big screen.. The only 2 bigger were the Metropolitan(Music Hall/Wang ctr). When Ryans Daughter opened there the screen was huge. After Ryans daughter the screen was changed.
To Shirley Marquez. The Cinema 57 was never split. It was built as a twin. When you walkwed in there was one auditorium on the right and one on the left. The lobby was in between which by the was was very large. The theatres were not long and narrow. You are mixing this up with some other theatre you have been in.
I’ve no doubt the Astor screen was huge. I’ve seen huge screens such as the DC Uptown, Seattle Cinerama, etc. But when I lived in Boston the Astor wasn’t open anymore & the Charles was the best there was. And, it was good.
So for those of you who think the screen at the Charles was large you have never seen a large screen. The Astor screen was wall to wall and installed by Todd-AO.
Oops, I had looked up Beacon Hill as per comment by Roger A & meant the Beacon Hill in my comment.
the Cinema 57 was never triplexed. It was built as a twin and remained so until it closed.
I was never in the Astor. I’d expect it would have a large screen. I wouldn’t have been in the Cinema 57 before it was triplexed. The Charles had a very large screen, 50 feet by 25 feet is what was reported. It was my favorite place to see a new movie in Boston in the early 1980s when I was there for school and later when I visited.
The Cinema 57 was built as a twin and was long and narrow like a bowling alley. The sound there was always bad and you had to sit real close to the screen to hear stereo. The left and right speakers were over the exits so you could hear stereo sound beyond the first few rows. What they did to it later I have no idea.
The screen at the Charles was not that big either. Ben Sack liked large screen but when the company got taken over the new management did not like large screens. The screen at the Astor was much larger than the one at the Charles and the screen at the Beacon Hill was also larger than the one at the Charles.
@billinuk: The Cinema 57 as I knew it had been converted into a two screen theater in an unusual way: it was split DOWN THE MIDDLE, resulting in two very long skinny rooms. (The back half was essentially useless; you would be better off watching the movie at home than from there.) The original configuration, which was gone before I ever went there, would have had a larger screen.
Charles Cinema may not have had the largest screen in Boston when it opened. But those other places closed or stopped showing movies long before the Charles did, so the time when it had the largest screen in Boston came later.
I saw the premiere of the Empire Strikes Back at this theater. (I remember waiting a very long time to see it — maybe it was just that way for a six year old.) Great memories.
Sorry to disagree with you Roger but when I saw Ryan’s daughter with my wife at the Charles in it’s first week in 1970 it was presented in it’s original format of Super Panavision 70 it was on Boston’s 2nd biggest screen next to the Music Hall and a wonderful sound system. Having been a projectionist my self I do believe I know when a screen is big or small and also what type of sound they use.
Well I worked at the Charles and The Astor the screen at the Charles was not that big so I don’t know where you got your information. Yes the Charles had Cinemeccanica 35/70 projectors with carbon arcs. They later converted to xenon and platters so one person could run all three screens. When Sack took over they reduced the screen size even further by masking it off.
Roger. Sorry to bust your bubble. But when the Charles first opened up by The Reade group it had the 2nd largest screen in Boston(not counting the Cinerama) next to the Music Hall(nee Metropolitan/Wang. The Astor was next. The Charles was equipped with 70mm from day one. Cinema 2&3 were added later by Sack/USA or Lowes. When Lowes took over they downsized the screen. Star Wars played in 70mm late in its engagement. I saw many movies there. Saw Ryan’s Daughter there on the big screen in 70mm and it was impressive.That was in 1970. Did not see Star Wars there because I was stationed elsewhere.
The buzz about “Star Wars” was alive and well in London well before it was released. In Boston Sack management got rid of the union projectionists that were used to running the Charles and hired others. New prints don’t usually break. The 35mm print I saw at the Charles looked and sounded so bad I called Fox and complained. The operators didn’t even know how to make a proper splice. Fox brought in a 70mm print and I heard that they went through a number of 70mm prints during the run. Why the myth persists that The Charles had a large screen I will never know but in fact the screen at the Charles was not very big and was never the largest in Boston!
just a refresher on the Star Wars opening in Boston spring 1977. I was working at the MGH, and the department of surgery there had a full-time photographer. he was friendly with the projectionist at the Charles and saw the opening of Star Wars with him. the film broke, and as part of the repair, our photographer came away with a still frame showing darth vader. he showed that to the resident surgeon staff and gave the movie rave reviews. we signed out our clinical duties the next day and took in the matinee, where the theater was only 1/3 full, and the audience was jumping off the seats. the movie was a “sleeper” and had scant advance notice. by two days later, with hugely favorable reviews, the lines were around the block!
April 7th, 1967 grand opening ad uploaded here.
When I was a kid, standing on line at the Charles was an essential part of the Star Wars experience, for all three movies. The line would wrap around the building. Waiting added to the excitement, made the whole thing an event.
Recently, some friends held their daughter’s birthday party at the Brattle, and screened a DVD of Star Wars. When the opening theme started, I was instantly back at the Charles, finally in my seat after a half hour in line.
For people who have been posting them here, and those who don’t know- there are exterior & auditorium photos of this one on cinematour. It doesn’t matter if other websites steal those photos. THIS website has a policy against that so those photos have been removed.